patriotism Posts

There are these documents most every Gold Star family has stashed somewhere. The signatures on those documents change from era to era, but the White House seal, it stays the same. The ones I have are over 50 years old now. They belonged to my mother but she passed them on to me – the document keeper of the family.

There’s the Regret-to-Inform telegram confirming that Staff Sgt. David P. Spears was KIA on July 24, 1966.

There’s the Letter of Sympathy sent from the United States president.read more

I’ve been working through the topic of forgiveness all year. It is the theme of the upcoming book – Christian Bend (Fall 2017, Mercer University Press). It’s one of those God poetry things. I knew when I began writing this Appalachian tale that takes place in Tennessee and France that the last book would address the topic of forgiveness and redemption.

What I didn’t know when I began writing the first of the three books in 2005 was just how much personal & national forgiveness I would wrestle with as I concluded the books in 2016. There are things going on in all of our lives, deeply wounding things, about which we don’t speak. We gather during the holidays, or other times throughout the year and put those hurts aside in the interest of everybody just getting along. I’ve done it. I’m sure you have done it, too. There are many in this nation who are suggesting, some even demanding, that we do that now. For the sake of the country. Because we are all Americans. Or so the admonitions go.read more

Karen Spears Zacharias

Karen Spears Zacharias grew up in a military family. Her father was killed in action in 1966. That early experience led Karen into a career as a journalist. She studied at Berry College, Oregon State University and Eastern Oregon University.
Karen has worked at newspapers around the country. Her commentary has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, CNN, National Public Radio and The Huffington Post.
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Karly Sheehan: True Crime Story Behind Karly’s Law

(Redbird Publishing)

“Beautifully written by a very talented investigative journalist. Karen has given us Karly’s legacy, that of a small, bright spirit who loved and was loved. And yet destroyed by heedless caretakers. A must read. Compelling and heartbreaking.”

Ann Rule, NYT author, Don’t Look Behind You and In the Still of the Night.

“I strongly recommend this book to everyone in the San Francisco Criminal Justice System.”

Journal of San Francisco Police Officers Association

“The art with which Zacharias carefully reconstructs events leading up to a senseless, painful tragedy is reminiscent of In Cold Blood in its power. Zacharias employs a sure sense of pace and description that enables this heartbreaking, never-salacious memoir to read like a thriller.”read more

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Mother of Rain: A Novel

(Mercer University Press)

“Beautifully drawn Appalachian characters, a strong sense of time and place, and a deeply important and universal theme: the interconnection of our actions and guilt (the patchwork quilt image). Like Blake, Zacharias deals with the complexity of the “fearful symmetry”, adding a profundity to her tale that gives it a superb richness.”

“Zacharias does a wonderful job of capturing the speech of the Appalachian mountain people and their ways. Every word rings true – as a daughter of Appalachia myself, I recognize the authentic ring of the words and the tragedy that often hides in the folds of the mountains. This is Zacharias’ first novel and a fine debut it is, indeed.”read more

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Will Jesus Buy Me a Doublwide? ‘Cause I need more room for my plasma TV

(Zondervan)

“I have been a ‘have’ and a ‘have-not’ in my live. I have found in my walk with the Lord, as Karen illustrates so well in these beautiful stories, that the riches he desires for us have nothing to do with money. I love a writer who’s not afraid to walk with real people and speak the truth of their lives. Keep shining your light Karen!”

Jeff Foxworthy

“If the prosperity gospel had a heart, Karen has stomped that sucker flat. This is a worthy read.”

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Where’s Your Jesus Now?

(Zondervan)

“Heartbreaking and witty, full of compassion and righteous outrage. It’s a fascinating book.”

AJ Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically

“Karen Zacharias has testified! This book is funny, fierce, and fearless. My stomach hurts from laughing, and my heart aches from finding the truth.” Doug Crandell, author of Hairdos of the Mildly Depressed and The Flawless Skin of Ugly People

“If Karen Spears Zacharias should turn evangelist, the stadium will be full every night.” Sonny Brewer, author of The Poet of Tolstoy Parkread more

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After the Flag has been Folded

(William Morrow)

“A relentless narrative, brilliantly written and paced, told by a daughter whose father was killed in action in Vietnam and the devastating effect it had on the author and her family. I am giving this book to my daughters.” Pat Conroy

“A dead-honest, raw-edged memoir on how the death of her father in Vietnam changed her life and the lives of everyone around her. Wonderfully told.”

Joseph Galloway

“A beautiful and important book. It thrums with real life and the beating heart of not only her own family’s history, but everyone’s history. This book will stay with me always.”read more